Akeana introduces extensive RISC-V processor lineup as it emerges from stealth mode.

Akeana, the semiconductor IP innovator, is stirring up the industry with its official company launch. After three years of hard work and over $100 million in capital raised from top investors like Kleiner Perkins, Mayfield, and Fidelity, Akeana is ready to shake things up. The company is introducing a range of customizable IP solutions that can handle any workload or application.

What sets Akeana apart is their team of experts who previously designed Marvell’s ThunderX2 server chips. With their experience and expertise, they have developed a lineup of IP solutions that includes microcontrollers, Android clusters, AI vector cores and subsystems, and compute clusters for networking and data centers. Akeana is breaking away from the traditional vendors and architectures, like ARM, by offering fair licensing options and processors that not only meet current performance standards but exceed them.

To celebrate their launch, Akeana has released three processor lines and SoC IP that are ready for customer delivery. Let’s take a closer look at what they have to offer:

1. Akeana 100 Series: This line of processors is highly configurable and features 32-bit RISC-V cores. It can support a wide range of applications, from embedded microcontrollers to edge gateways and personal computing devices.

2. Akeana 1000 Series: With 64-bit RISC-V cores and an MMU, this processor line is designed to support rich operating systems while maintaining low power consumption and requiring minimal die area. These processors offer various extensions, including AI computation extensions, and can handle in-order or out-of-order pipelines, multi-threading, vector extension, and hypervisor extension.

3. Akeana 5000 Series: For those seeking extreme performance, the Akeana 5000 Series is the way to go. These processors outperform their competitors and the rest of the RISC-V ecosystem, making them perfect for demanding applications in next-gen devices, Laptops, data centers, and cloud infrastructure. They are compatible with the Akeana 1000 Series but offer much higher single thread performance.

In addition to the processor lines, Akeana also provides Processor System IP, which includes essential IP blocks for creating processor SoCs. This collection includes a Coherent Cluster Cache, I/O MMU, and Interrupt Controller IPs. Akeana also offers Scalable Mesh and Coherence Hub IP, compatible with AMBA CHI, to build large coherent compute subsystems for data centers and other use cases. And let’s not forget about their AI Matrix computation engine, designed to accelerate AI operations by offloading Matrix Multiply operations. This engine can be configured in size and supports various data types.

Rabin Sugumar, CEO of Akeana, expressed his confidence in the company’s products, saying, “Our team has a proven track record of designing world-class server chips, and we are now applying that expertise to the broader semiconductor market as we formally go to market. With our rich portfolio of customizable cores and special security, debug, RAS, and telemetry features, we provide our customers with unparalleled performance, observability, and reliability. We believe our products will revolutionize the industry.”

The industry seems to agree with Sugumar’s sentiments. Navin Chaddha, Managing Partner at Mayfield, said, “The renaissance of silicon, sweeping through our industry, is driving the rise of architectural innovations like RISC-V. Akeana has everything needed to become a breakout company – a world-class team of founders and investors, the most comprehensive IP, a fair licensing model, and a compelling value proposition for aiding chipmakers in designing workload-optimized silicon solutions.”

Mamoon Hamid, partner at Kleiner Perkins, added, “The migration to RISC-V is in full flight. The majority of top semiconductor firms are transitioning to RISC-V, with many choosing Akeana due to its best-in-class performance.”

With a team of seasoned professionals and a commitment to delivering game-changing solutions for data and AI-intensive use cases, Akeana is poised to become a driving force in the industry. They are proud members of the RISC-V Board of Directors and are actively participating in the RISE project to accelerate the availability of software for RISC-V.

In conclusion, Akeana’s launch is an exciting development in the semiconductor world. Their customizable IP solutions and high-performance processors are set to revolutionize the industry and meet the unique needs of customers. So, keep an eye out for Akeana as they continue to make waves in the world of semiconductor IP innovation.

Background Information

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About ARM:

ARM, originally known as Acorn RISC Machine, is a British semiconductor and software design company that specializes in creating energy-efficient microprocessors, system-on-chip (SoC) designs, and related technologies. Founded in 1990, ARM has become a important player in the global semiconductor industry and is widely recognized for its contributions to mobile computing, embedded systems, and Internet of Things (IoT) devices. ARM's microprocessor designs are based on the Reduced Instruction Set Computing (RISC) architecture, which prioritizes simplicity and efficiency in instruction execution. This approach has enabled ARM to produce highly efficient and power-saving processors that are used in a vast array of devices, ranging from smartphones and tablets to IoT devices, smart TVs, and more. The company does not manufacture its own chips but licenses its processor designs and intellectual property to a wide range of manufacturers, including Qualcomm, Apple, Samsung, and NVIDIA, who then integrate ARM's technology into their own SoCs. This licensing model has contributed to ARM's widespread adoption and influence across various industries.

  

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Technology Explained

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SoC: A System-on-Chip (SoC) is a highly integrated semiconductor device that encapsulates various electronic components, including processors, memory, input/output interfaces, and often specialized hardware components, all on a single chip. SoCs are designed to provide a complete computing system or subsystem within a single chip package, offering enhanced performance, power efficiency, and compactness. They are commonly used in a wide range of devices, from smartphones and tablets to embedded systems and IoT devices, streamlining hardware complexity and facilitating efficient integration of multiple functions onto a single chip.

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